Aliens are Here

I do not believe the Law God established for ancient Israel applies to the church or to America. But, I believe we can use it to establish wise principles to live by because the Law reveals God’s heart. I believe God loves the illegal immigrant, and expects the country they are residing in to compassionately and wisely care for their needs.

“Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”Exodus 23:9

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:9-10

“When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:32-34

“The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD : The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.” Numbers 15:14-16

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:17-19

Do not take advantageof a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Deuteronomy 24:14

Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Deuteronomy 24:17

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Deuteronomy 24:19-21

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Deuteronomy 26:12

The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. Psalm 146:9

Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:3b

Have you ever contemplated how godly men could own slaves in the 1800’s? Or how good Germans could be anti-Semitic and turn a cold shoulder to the plight of their Jewish neighbors in the 1920? Is the way our country treats illegal immigrants the issue that future generations will look back on us and wonder, “How could they love God and yet despise and eject these poor people?”

I do not agree with Geraldo Rivera on many (most) political issues, but I believe he precisely portrays the climate in America against illegal immigrants. His book has inspired me to be more vigilant in finding practical ways to help the illegals in my circle of life.

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3 thoughts on “Aliens are Here”

I was at a wedding at a catholic church here in Austin, and the priest listed among the responsibilities of the couple who was about to take the sacrament of marriage to care for the alien. I don’t think I had ever heard that mentioned before at any wedding, or church for that matter. I may have to do with the catholic church having a more international focus than independent churches in America on these things. Thought it was interesting…